Change of heart and skiing with snowboarders

Due to a very busy schedule with cycling, university and work, I found it a bit hard to constantly update the blog with AFL posts. So back to skiing it is. I have a post on another ski trip to Heavenly, Lake Tahoe, in the pipeline but, since it was one of my favourite trips, I thought I’d wait until I got it right before posting it.

Thankfully, there’s never a moment where you lack for skiing conversation topics and one that comes up all the time is the skiing vs. snowboarding war. Every skier I talk to has a natural disdain for snowboarders (“they go too fast”, “they’re out of control”, “their hair is too long”) and the same goes for snowboarders’ opinion of skiers (“they go too fast”, “they’re out of control”, “their hair is too short”).

Before doing my season, I was a hater. I used to hate the way you had to wait constantly for snowboarders at the top of lifts, how they wrecked the snow with their one edge and they looked barely in control going down anything moderately steep. Moreover, they spend most of the time on their butt.

However, due to the high number people who had never seen snow before and the even higher number of Aussies in Whistler, if I was skiing in a group, it usually contained at least 50% snowboarders, if not more. Most of the time, it was me with 5 or so other boarders.

At first, it annoyed me. Either I blasted down to the bottom of a run before they’d even finished, waiting forever outside the lift line or I waited for them to strap in before skiing slow enough for them to keep up. Either way, I was waiting forever. However, over the course of the season, the more I spent days on the hill with boarders, the more I enjoyed it.

There are certain facts about skiing with snowboarders that make it more enjoyable than with skiers. Firstly, they have much bigger balls than most skiers. They’ll try almost everything. Dropping huge cliffs, hitting big terrain park features, screaming down icy runs, you name it, they’ll do it (except for moguls). I think its mostly about the whole ‘both-feet-strapped-to-a-plank-of-wood-therefore-I’m-invincible’ mindset.

Secondly, it gives you a great chance to have a relaxing day on the hill. If you’ve had a number of consecutive powder days or days in the park, its nice to just cruise some groomers or tree lines with the slower snowboarders. With all the strapping in and unbuckling, it also gives you plenty of time to take photos.

Finally, they always want to stay up until closing. I can almost guarantee that the last ride on any of the high-alpine lifts will be a hardcore snowboarder begging for another lap. Once they get up there, they never want to leave the hill.

If you really want to get the best out of a day with snowboarders, you have to hit the mountain with them on a powder day. Most of the time, they are as fast, if not faster, in deep pow than skiers. I remember some awesome powder days in Whistler, skiing Spanky’s Ladder, Seppo’s or VD Trees, enjoying the bottomless powder with my best mates, most of whom were snowboarders. I’m not saying that I’d ever give up my skis for a board but on powder days, they look like as much fun and easier to handle.

If you’re still not convinced but have a whole bunch of buddies who snowboard, here’s a couple of tips to pass the time whilst waiting for them.

1. Take an iPod and some headphones. Sometimes you can lap empty lifts twice as fast as boarders so its good to stick some music in and tear up the groomers. Also, if you’re going to meet them up the mountain later or split from the group early, it means you have some musical company.
2. Take a camera. Again, if you’re waiting around a lot, take some happy snaps, take some video, laughing at their misfortunes, etc.
3. Practice some new skills you’re trying to learn. I used to practice popping into switch or just switch skiing the whole way. I also used to hit some little natural features and side-hits which are great fun and a good way of eating up time.
4. As they have both hands free, owing to the absence of poles, hand them a video camera and get them to take some footage of you. Great way to get a glimpse of your technique, tricks or powder runs.
5. Not so much a passing-the-time tip but a reiteration of a point above. If you’ve had a few hard, long days on the slopes, snowboarders do provide a way for you to relax, take your foot of the gas a bit and recuperate whilst still enjoying the snow.

After more than a decade of hate, I now enjoy skiing with snowboarders as much as skiing with skiers. Its just a matter of making the most of the time. There will always be a rift between skiing and snowboarding but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a great time on the mountain together.